The Director and cast of the Santa Barbara, Chile Christmas Pageant December 1967.

My husband and I arrived in Chile in late September of 1967. Our town had never encountered Americans and were skeptical about why we were there, despite our best explanations. Perhaps as a test to win their confidence, their first request was that I run their annual Christmas pageant. I enlisted practically all the local kids from 5 to 17. To work around shyness they were divided into "actors" and the chorus. I designed the show into a series of 3 tableaux:
Christmas in the Bible with children dressed in bathrobes as the Holy Family, shepherd and wise men plus an assortment of unruly livestock. Christmas in Chile involving lots of folk singing and a picnic. Christmas in America via a translation of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas complete with Santa arriving via a chimney and Jingle Bells sung in English. The entire town turned out for it and from then on, projects never ceased to come our way.